Vire Boar

VIRE BOAR The Vire boar is a species of the pig genus belonging to the historic suids of the olden days that have managed to thrive and evolved into the menacing tanks of today. Vire boars are native across many habitats and environments across the planet and have been introduced by Gaia successfully to nearly every piece of habital land on the planet. It is speculated that Gaia is utilizing the Vire boar to be a stable mainstay of a prey item for numerous predators as she expands her Preserves and to some how unconsiously provide meat for Splicers. The Resistance continues to hunt these powerful pigs and some Great Houses have even attempted to successfully farm them upon rare occasion. This has established additional populations after some Vire Boar escape from captivity. The body of the Vire boar is compact; the head exceptionally large resembling a cross between a historic wild boar and a wart hog. The legs are relatively stocky and powerful with sharp hooves built for running and charging. One of the extraordinary features is that the fur over the years of adaptation and Gaia’s influence has become a hardened bone cartilage casing that is highly durable yet flexible like fur, that covers the entire exterior of the Vire boar and making them solid as tanks. Only the under part of the neck/throat and center of the underbelly and genital area have the less dense cartilage casing but these areas are very hard to target and reach (-6 to strike). Male stallions have additional layers of cartilage that develops from numerous battles and scar tissue healing during the mating seasons and territorial battles that form into protective shoulder armored plates, called “shields.” These shield plates add to the Vire boar’s endoskeleton cartilage casing making Vire boars a very tough adversaries. Their high testosterone levels backed by quick fuse tempers as they will charge and relentlessly fight any predator or anyone that comes within 50 feet (15.2 m) of their awareness is a reason why they are avoided unless specialized hunters like Packmasters are seeking them. Many Splicers have witnessed alien predators that have attempted to predate a Vire boar and seen the Vire boar turn around and gore or slash the would-be assailant, delivering fatal wounds in return. Vire Boars often foam at the mouth and drips along the tusks when excited or frustrated and this froth is toxic and infectious quickly spreading throughout blood streams through open wounds or gashes inflicted upon other animals, causing severe pain, nervous system and muscle deterioration. Perhaps the more disturbing accounts were when the boars began to stalk the wounded predators until the predators bled to death and the boars actually consumed the carcass. The Vire boar color usually varies from dark grey to black or brown, but there are great regional differences in color; even solid white animals are known in the Arctic regions of the planet. It is important to note that Arctic Vire boars are often much larger in scale with long white manes flowing over the neck and shoulders and going down the center of the back and also having thick tuffs of fur on the bottom of the legs near the hoofs. Vire boar piglets are colored differently from adults, having ochre, chocolate and cream colored stripes lengthwise over their bodies. The stripes fade by the time the piglet is about 6 months old, when the animal takes on the adult's grizzled grey or brown color. Litter size of Vire boars may vary depending on their location where the warmer the habitat the more piglets in the litter and vice versa. Adult male Vire boars are known as “Stallions” and they develop 3 major pair of tusks, which continuously grow that protrude from the upper and lower canine teeth and from the huge jaw bones. These serve as formidable weapons and rooting tools. The 3 pairs of upper tusks are bent upwards in males, and are regularly ground against the lower ones or against hard surfaces such as rocks or trees to produce sharp edges. The two largest pair of tusks normally measure about 4-5 feet (1.2 to 1.5 m), in exceptional cases even 6-7 feet (1.8 to 2.1 m) cutters. The mid-pair are not as long and normally grow to only half the length of the larger pairs. Females called “Sows” also have sharp canines, but their tusks are smaller, also lacking the mid and upper jaw pair of tusks and the sows tusk don’t protrude out as long as the males' tusks, usually only reaching 2-3 feet (0.6 to 0.9 m).

Vire Boars are situationally crepuscular or nocturnal, foraging in early morning and late afternoon or at night, but resting for periods during both night and day. If surprised or cornered, a Vire Boar (particularly a sow with her piglets or a threatened Stallion male) can and will defend itself with intense vigor. The male stallions defend themselves by lowering its head, charges, and then slashes upward with his tusks. The sows, whose tusks are not as pronounced, charges with her head up, mouth wide, and bites. Such attacks are often fatal to humans, or at the very least may result in severe trauma, dismemberment, or severe blood loss.

Sexual activity and testosterone production in males is triggered by decreasing day length, reaching a peak in mid-autumn. The normally solitary males then move into female groups, and rival males fight for dominance, whereupon the largest and most dominant males achieve the most matings.

Vire boars are a main food source for a vast array of predators (alien, natural and Splicer types) in the regions where they coexist. Wild predators typically follow boar groups, and pick them off one by one, preferring piglets as the easier catch. Some predators have been noted to chase boars for longer distances than with other prey, though they will usually avoid tackling mature male stallion boars. In many cases, Vire boars have gored many formidable and reputable predators (including Splicers & Warmounts) to death in self defense. Also noted is the ocassional predation of Vire boars by some Necroborgs when they are encountered outside of a Preserve. It is speculated that the massive amounts of agricultural destruction caused by Vire Boars and their rapid reproduction will inevitably place them on the N.E.X.U.S. pest & extermination list “if” their growing populations aren’t kept in check. It is suggested that the growing amount of reports Necroborgs predating Vires or the oddly, a Strike Fighter coming down to pick off a few boars is proof that Gaia has lifted machine killing restrictions on this species inorder to cull their numbers.

In the end it is said that Gorehounds are considered to be the major predator of Vire boars. Gorehounds will rarely attack Adult male stallions alone in a head on excursion, preferring to tear at the perineum, causing loss of coordination and massive blood loss with safety of a pack to work the vire boar. Gorehound packs are often trained in packs of at least 3-6 to secure a Vire Boar by biting and holding the boar by its large ears, snout and rear legs, holding it and allowing a seasoned Packmaster to close in and deliver the killing blow via a saber thrust to the throat or heart. This traditional hunting method known as the “Monteria” where no guns or long range weapons are used, preserves the meat and condition of the pelt for later use as food and trade components and helps hone the pack as a unit. The extent to which Vire Boars are preyed upon by Gorehounds has led to them developing a more aggressive behaviour toward both Gorehounds and Splicers, and any predator that resembles a large canid or human, sometimes targetting humanoid machines such as Nex-Androids, Drones, Steel Troopers, Slicers and Necroborgs/bots in the process.

Alignment: Animal

Speed:Running: 70 mph (112 km) for an hour at a time, but needs periods of rest or slow speed. Increase speed by 10 mph (16 km) for sows, but only in short sprints that last 1D6 minutes at a time. Reduce speed by 20% for the larger older stallions of 8 years and older.Leaping: 5 feet (1.5 m) high and 10 feet (3 m) across, increase by half with a running start.Digging: 10 mp (16 km) through sand or dirt, but half that speed through clay, rock or stone. They dig to uproot and search for any food and to make nesting sites and excavate abandoned animal burrows for their own nesting sites. Swimming: 2 mph (3.2 km or 1.72 knots) on the water’s surface. They can also swim underneath the water by running along the bottom of river beds and lakes like hippos at 6 mph (9.6 km or 5.86 knots) and they can hold their breath for up to 15 minutes when submerged. Flying: Not possible

Statistical Data:Height: 6-7 feet (1.8 to 2.1 m) at the shoulder, adult male stallions are larger measuring 8-9 foot (2.4 to 2.7 m) tall at the shoulders, but 11 foot (3.3) specimens have been recorded but are rare. The serrated jagged spine plates that adorn the spine and ridge of the Vire boars adds an additional 1-3 feet (0.3 to 0.9 m) to the overall height with males having the largest plates.Width: 4 feet (1.2 m) shoulder to shoulder, though robust 5 footer (1.5 m) stallions have been recorded. Length: 7-12 feet (2.1 to 3.6 m), plus a 2-foot (0.6 m) tail.Weight: Boar stallion 2200 lbs (990 kg), Sow 1400 lbs (630 kg).Physical Strength: PS 33 (Supernatural). Sexual Maturity: 8-10 months, Females breed at 18 months, males about 5 years.Production Cycle & Breeding Season: Gestation period 100-140 days; 1 year birth intervals. Mating season is throughout the year in the tropics, October to December in temperate areas.Number of Brood: 1-12 (typically 4-8 piglets).Average Lifespan: 15-20 years.Number Encountered: Adult male stallions are usually solitary outside of the breeding season, but sows and their offspring (both sub-adult males and females) live in groups called “sounders”. Sounders typically number around 20 animals, although groups of over 50 have been seen, and will consist of 2 to 3 sows; one of which will be the dominant female. Group structure changes with the coming and going of farrowing females, the migration of maturing males (usually when they reach around 20 months) and the arrival of unrelated sexually active males. Also note that Vire Boars wallow in and create nasty infectious putrid water holes and mud holes that have numerous diseases, parasites and stench that warrant serious concern to anyone exposed and should be avoided at all cost.Trade Value: Vire Boar under belly and throat hair is used in the manufacture of boar-bristle hairbrushes, which are considered to be gentler on hair—and much more expensive—than common plastic-bristle hairbrushes. Boar hair is also used in the manufacture of paint brushes, especially those used for oil painting. Boar bristle paintbrushes are stiff enough to spread thick paint well, and the naturally split or "flagged" tip of the untrimmed bristle helps hold more paint. Because data is either stored in CDs where computer resources are limited, or the few books that can be salvaged; painting and calligraphy have become a growing trade and boar bristles are used by these Scribes to notate everything and help provide data to Librarians for those who aren’t able to be directly stabbed for the information or helps in communications between Great House senates and other clerical written needs that are utilized though human society. Several hand fulls of underbelly Vire boar hair can fetch 500 credits to the right market exchange.

Across the globe, Vire Boar are famous for their meat, and in some Great Houses the meat may often be found for sale in butcher shops or offered in restaurants, though the meat ranks among the highest priced types of meat and is mush a part of high standard cuisine as venison. The salty yet sweet meat of the Vire Boar, when cooked and prepared correctly, is a delicacy to say the least as it is said to taste far better than bacon or pork chops of the olden colonial days and is borderline addictive to many who consume it. This has created major job security mainstay and source of additional income for Packmasters who know & successfully hunt Vire boar. The fresh meat from an adult can easily fetch 10,000-12,000 credits or 100 credits per pound depending on the Great Houses bartering & exchange rates. The armored hide is also a great source for the pelt trade and good condition adult pelts can fetch 1500 – 4000 credits each. Eradication of Vire boars where they plague lands and do millions of credits worth of damage to the agriculture land and crops also fetches a bounty of 2,500 credits for every adult head brought in. Other than that Vire boar have no additional value as they don’t make good domesticated pliable livestock as they are ravenous and eat more than they are worth and only the most successful and larger Great Houses have facilitated successfully in captive breeding programs for livestock via Methane foundry and butcher meat purposes. Horror Factor: 13 against humans, 8 against seasoned Packmasters, none against machines. Senses & Features: Cartilage Endoskeleton & Bacteria Froth venom. Coloration: Solid black, gray, dark brown. Liver brown, spotted pigmentation of white and gray, dull gray. Piglets have white spots and stripes that adorn the sides of their necks, back and legs. As they reach maturity these stripes fade away. Feeding: Vire Boars are opportunistic voracious omnivore scavengers, eating almost anything they come across, including grass, fruits, nuts, berries, carrion, roots, tubers, fungi, weeds, herbs, refuse such as rotting meat and spoiled foods. Vires are also known to be opportunistic predators of young deer, antelope, sheep and lambs or any other animal they can over power individually or as a herd. Invertebrates, birds, insects, reptiles, amphibians, fish and verterbrates including humans. Vire Boars will consume almost anything organic or human refuse (garbage or fecal matter), though they have a strong instinctive discernment of unfamiliar objects and food sources which makes them very difficult to eradicate. Vire boars have been known to be cannibalistic, particularly over the wounded, elder or weak and infanticide is common when food is scarce and rivals injured in interguild fighting will be consumed. The digestive system of Vire Boars is so powerful that they can even devour Biotechnology and biotech sludge or poisons and venoms with no ill effects. Adults usually consume 50-80 lbs (22.5 to 36 kg) of matter a day but can gorge up to 160 pounds (72 kg) if the opportunity presents itself. Vocalization & Communication: Snorts, grunts, squealing, teeth gritting and tusks clacking. Foot stomping and digging are also signs of aggression. Roaring is done during the mating season to warn or challenge other males in a given territory. Sleep Requirements: 1D6 Hours of sleep/rest/ inactivity per day, generally resting in nest sites or wallowing holes concealed by deep bush or foliage and coming out in sounders at nocturnal times to feed, though they can also be encountered during the day in a sounder grazing and rooting up food.

Vire Boar Hunting: Currently Vire Boars are most often hunted both for their meat and to mitigate any damage they may cause to crops and forests. A charging boar is considered exceptionally dangerous quarry, due to its thick hide, rasor sharp tusks and dense bones, making anything less than a kill shot a potentially deadly mistake. Hunters have reported being butted up into trees by boars that have already taken a numerous shots. The Traditional hunting of Boars with dogs, Now Gorehounds: Vire boars are a known animal that represents ferocity and some Great Houses import them and use them for traditional hunting and training for Packmasters & Gorehounds. This training is very deadly, as no long range weapons are utilized and many Gorehounds & Packmasters have lost their lives in such grueling practices of attrition and tenacity. Hunting dogs have been used to hunt boar since ancient times, and now the Gorehounds have risen to fill the niche. Vire Boar hunting Gorehounds are loosely divided into two categories, bay dogs and catch dogs. The Bay Gorehounds are oftne the sleeker and faster of the Gorehounds and are used to scent, find, chase, course, harass and harry the boar, keeping it cornered in one place, while intensely vocalizing. This behaviour is known as "baying" or keeping the boar "at bay". The bay Gorehounds alert the Packmaster(s) to the bay, and the dogs maintain a slight distance from the boar allowing the hunter(s), once caught up, to dispatch the boar with a well placed shot from a powerful firearm or allow the Catch gorehounds to enter the fray so the hog can be secured for the clean kill. ed and cleaned later as the meat from a boar goes bad very quickly. Catch Gorehounds physically enage and fight big game quarry, taking hold of the Vire boar, typically seizing the base of the boar's ear, or sid eof the snout or a rear leg. Once the catch dogs have physical control of the boar, they will hold it down by the head indefinitely until the Packmaster arrives. The Packmaster unsheathes his saber, then comes in from behind the boar, and dispatches the boar with a deep thrust to the throat severing an artery or a thrust into the heart, instantly killing the Vire Boar. Catch dogs are typically the larger more robust specimens of Gorehounds resembling thebuild of the old molosser breeds known as the "Bully" breeds such as American bulldogs, Pit Bull teriers, Dogo Argentinos, Cane Corso and other Mastiff crosses. It is not unusual for Packmasters to utilize both bay and catch dogs on the same huntor quarry. Bay dogs are used to find the boar, initiate the chase, and pursue the quarry. Sometimes the boar will run from the bay gorehounds at first, but at some point during the chase either stop to fight or become cornered. At this point catch dogs are released to keep the boar stationary for the Packmaster. Vire boars have been known to strategically stretch a pack to chase it so when it turns around to fight the closest gorehound or two, it inflicts severe injuries and quickly turns to run again before the entire pack can catch up to it. Vire Boars that have been unsuccessfully hunted and have gained experience fighting gorehounds will repeat this pattern, literally dicing up a pack of gorehounds in one chase if allotted. Packmasters must be wary of a seasoned “dogged” Vire Boar as they are the most experienced in fighting Gorehounds and quite easily meanest “dog killers” there are. Catch dogs and Bay dogs are both still pure Gorehounds and closely resemble each other and the physical distinctions are slight, unlike the days of old where specific pheno type breeds were established soley for conformation aesthetics & pedigree lineage. In the field where function begets form, however, these slight differences mold the Gorehound into its role in the pack and if it will be a bay dog or catch dog, or both. Most Packmasters shun from the breed distinction ideology and prefer the performance dictating the form approach over a specific look of a Gorehound. Pack efficiency and survival are simply more important to the Packmasters versus if a Gorehound has a pink nose or not or if they exceed normal standards by a few inches or afew pounds. There are other Great Houses throughout the Resistance however that have Librarians who treasure the breed distinctions of old such as the Great Houses of Warsaw (classical breeds), Glacius (utilizing Dire wolves in their Gorewolves strains in the Arctic regions), Janus (modified gorehound types & classifications), Nores (totally Dogo Argentino gorehound producer), Fei Lin (Asiatic aesthetic influenced gorehounds resembling the legendary Fu Lions or Fu Dogs, and a few other smaller Houses where breeds or varying pheno types play a significant role in their Gorehound specimens.